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TRINITY COLLEGE DUBLIN PHOTONIC CRYSTAL SURFACE

MAKES CHIP-SCALE LIGHT EMITTING LASERS DEMONSTRATED

TECH BREAKTHROUGH FOR FIRST TIME OUTSIDE LAB

Vector Photonics, a Scottish start-up that is standard forward error correction thresholds. This
The Centre for Research on Adaptive Nanostructures
pioneering the use of photonic crystal surface was twice the system specification required for the
and Nanodevices (CRANN) at Trinity College Dublin
emitting lasers, or PCSELs, has demonstrated the experiment, but well below the figure achievable by
has developed a new light-based technology on
Visit our a tiny chip that has implications for data centres first successful application of the technology for PCSELs, which have a naturally high data rate.
behind cloud computing, artificial intelligence and optical communication outside of a laboratory. Dr. Richard Taylor, Chief Executive Officer and Founder
website! global internet services. Data was successfully transmitted across the of Vector Photonics says:
With collaboration from the University of Bath and the River Clyde from the Glasgow Science Centre to “ This is a major step forward for Vector Photonics,
the Clydesdale Distillery using a system designed
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, the proving that our technology is a commercial reality
and built by Fraunhofer UK. This has shown that the
Why not head down to our Dublin team pioneered a new method of generating technology can perform successfully under different in real-world applications. We believe that the demo
extremely stable light signals using microscopic is the most advanced application for a PCSEL to date,
website and read more news in ring-shaped devices known as ‘microresonators’. environmental conditions over a sizeable distance. advancing it from a Technology Readiness Level of 4/5
our blog section? These signals form ‘optical frequency combs’, also Previously only lab experiments using ideal conditions to 6/7. “
and simulators have been attempted.
referred to as ‘optical rulers’, which produce a series of
Article courtesy of LouVan Communications Inc.
evenly spaced colours of light that can be applied to The PCSEL is a new type of laser that combines the
Updated daily with hand-picked measure light with very high precision. high power of edge emitting lasers with the speed
articles from around the web... The research was augmented with the demonstration and surface emission of vertical cavity surface
emitting lasers, or VCSELs. They are especially suitable
of a new type of light pulse, referred to as a
for secure, free-space optical communications due
‘hyperparametric soliton’, which is a stable pulse that
to their ability to emit narrow, high-brightness beams
allows the comb signals to be produced in different
with excellent beam quality and low divergence,
colours of light from the laser that powers the device.
which is critical for minimising signal loss over long
This makes the technology especially useful for the
distances. Unlike conventional laser sources, PCSELs
high-speed optical communications that are used for
combine the benefits of surface emission with
data transfer in data centres.
coherent, single-mode output, enabling efficient
Professor John Donegan, Professor of Physics at Trinity coupling into free-space optics without the need for
College Dublin and Investigator at the CONNECT complex beam-shaping elements.
Research Ireland Centre for Future Networks, states:
The PCSEL is envisaged as a next-generation
“ We are very excited to have generated a new type of laser source for compact free-space optical
optical source that will be of strong interest to those communication systems with faster, secure internet
working in optical communications and high-precision connections that no longer rely on cables or radio
optical measurements. Working with an outstanding signals. With its wide wavelength flexibility spanning
optical theorist at the University of Bath and the ultraviolet to the far infrared, applications are notably
world-leading microresonator fabrication group in identified in AI data centres, Lidar and additive
Switzerland, my group has been able demonstrate a manufacturing/3D-printing.
institutionofelectronics.ac.uk
new type of optical comb source. “
In the trial data transfer was achieved at 50Mbps
Reference: Optical Communications News, 10th. April over a distance of 500 metres, with error rates below

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